UCB has agreed to acquire Candid Therapeutics and its range of autoimmune and inflammatory disease-focused novel T-cell engager (TCE) candidates, bolstering the former’s pipeline amid the burgeoning growth of the immunology field.
Through this buyout, UCB will hand over $2bn upfront and up to $200m in milestone payments to absorb Candid’s four-strong pipeline of novel candidates – including its crown jewel asset and lead therapy, cizutamig.
The B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeting therapy, which UCB hails as “a potential best-in-class BCMA TCE for autoimmune diseases,” enables the destruction of overactive plasma and B-cells that express BCMA. Cizutamig is also engineered to reduce harmful cytokine release, which could diminish the side effects driven by this cell type that is commonly linked to TCE treatment.
Candid’s lead therapy is currently in clinical development across more than 10 autoimmune diseases – offering broad promise for UCB, while potentially adding to its portfolio of immunology medicines like blockbuster IL-17A/F blocker, Bimzelx (bimekizumab) and TNF-α inhibitor, Cimzia (certolizumab pegol).
In a statement, UCB’s CEO, Jean-Christophe Tellier, said that cizutamig “exemplifies the next wave of therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases,” while touting the drug as a “potential transformative asset”.
However, cizutamig is not the only programme UCB will pick up from its Candid buyout, as the company will also secure the rights to the biotech’s three bi- and trispecific TCEs for autoimmune diseases. Candid has coined the most advanced therapy in this arsenal, CND261, which has already been through a Phase I dose escalation study. The other two therapies, CND319 and CND460, are currently in preclinical development, with one of them coming under Candid’s belt through a $925m deal with WuXi Biologics.
TCEs gain steam in autoimmune diseases
UCB’s Candid buyout marks the company’s second foray into the TCE space, with the Belgian pharma making its first bet on the drug class through a $1.1bn licensing deal with Antengene. Through this deal, the company secured the global rights to the Chinese biopharma’s bispecific TCE, ATG‑201.
Meanwhile, fellow big pharma player Gilead Sciences is also placing stakes in the drug class and its potential in autoimmune diseases, having acquired Ouro Medicines and its BCMA/CD3-targeted lead asset, gamgertamig, for $2.2bn in March 2026.
Gilead is not the only one to see the promise of TCEs in the autoimmune space, with both Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim having inked licensing deals centred around the drug class within this disease area in recent months.
While many big pharma companies begin to chase the potential of TCEs in autoimmune disease, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has gone back to the roots of this drug class by exploring its role in oncology, penning a solid tumour-focused discovery pact with Oxford BioTherapeutics.
